Process for producing stencils for decorating fabrics.



G. JACOBS.

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING STENCILS FOR DECORATING FABRICS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 27. 1916.

Lfifl mo Patented Mar. 27, 1912.

GERALD JACOBS, or DOLGEVILLE, NEW YORK.

PROCESS FOR PRODUCING STENCILS FOR DECORATING FABRICS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that -I, GERALD JACOBS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Dolgeville, county of Herkimer, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Process for Producing Stencils for Decorating Fabrics, of which the following is a full, clear, and complete specification.

, The application of colored ornaments to various fabrics, dress goods, felts and the like, and the preparing of stencils therefor, have been known and practised for many years, but the stencils, produced by the methods heretofore known, are not well suitable for the purpose and thwart the efforts, to reproduce colored ornaments upon such fabric in an attractive or truly artistic manner.

The object of my invention is to provide a method of producing stencils which permit the reproduction of all, even the finest details of such decorations, and by means of which colored ornaments can be reproduced upon fabrics so well, that they appear as having been made by an artists brush, which greatly adds to the attractiveness and artistic value of the ornament, and consequently, also to the value of the article of manufacture on which such ornamentation is produced.

For the purpose of illustrating and explaining my improved process for producing the stencil, and how the stencll is used in the production of the ornament, I have selected the illustration of a rose with a bud and leaves, shown on the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of a plate, from which the stencil for the entire design would be made, if the entire design were to be produced in one color only and without the outlines;

Figs. 2 and 3 are elevations of two plates for producing the stencils if the features of the design are to be reproduced in different colors, 1'. e. the rose in red, and the stalk, the bud and theleaves, in green color;

Fig. 4 is an illustration of the plate for producing a stencil of the outlines of the design, the veins and other details, when it is desired to show the outlines in a color different from those applied upon the surfaces.

These figures may be taken also as illustrating the stencils, which are mechanically Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 27, 1916. Serial No. 128,040.

reproduced from the engraved plates, as hereinafter explained.

The first step in producing the requisite stencils is the engraving of either the entlre design as shown in Fig.1, or of the groups of features, which are to be produced in different colors as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Zinc plates are preferable for the engravings, being easier work, and equally non-porous and free from deteriorat1on by the materials used in producing the stencils, but plates of other materials may be employed. If the design is to be reproduced in one color only, only one plate need to be engraved as shown in Fig. 1, whereon the features, marked 6 and b in the drawing, are sunk, the features marked a being the remainder of the smooth surface of the plate. These features marked a represent the portions of the design to which the color is to be applied through the stencil. From a plate thus engraved only one stencil is made for the reproduction of the entine design. For the reproduction of a multi-colored design one plate must be engraved, and one stencil produced, for each part, or feature, (or group of parts, 'or features) of the design to be reproduced in one color upon the fabric. For instance, if the design is to be produced in two colors, two plates must be engraved as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The plate shown in Fig. 2 contains the engraved features of the rose, and of the bud, which would be reproduced in red, or pink, or yellow; the other plate shown in Fig. 3 contains the features of the stalk, the leaves, etc. which would be reproduced in green color upon the fabric. Also in these plates the lines and areas designated b and b designated a in the drawings, represent the remainder of the smooth surface of the plate. In the stencils, produced from these plates by the process herein described, the engraved lines and areas, marked 6 and b in all figures of the drawings, are filled in, whereas the areas marked a are left open for the application of the color therethrough to the fabric to be ornamented by the design. If, the outlines and details of contour, etc., are to be reproduced a third plate as shown in Fig. 4 must be made, in which these outlines the design, marked 0 in the drawing are left raised, the same as the colorable features in the other plates upon which color is to be are sunk, and the areas,

and other details of applied. In this plate the shaded areas marked (Z and d respectively, are excavated and are covered in the stencil to be produced therefrom. In all of these plates only those parts of the design, or only the features of the design, appear raised, on which the color is to be applied; the rest of the surface of every plate is excavated.

From these engraved plates the stencils are produced as follows:

The etched (sunken) lines and areas of the engraved plates are filled with a mineral powder, preferably a pigment, for instance, dry white lead, or a zinc compound, or a finely calcined ocher; a sheet of bolting cloth is stretched on a frame, and some paint, ground in linseed oil, and slightly diluted with linseedoil, mixedwith a small proportion of var'nish and of a drier, is applied thereon. Then the freshly painted bolting cloth is laid over the engraved plate and gently, but thoroughly, pressed thereon. The paint takes up the powder, filled in the engraved lines, and in the excavated areas of the plate, and the raised surfaces of the plate take up the paint from the bolting, cloth. By this action a reproduction of the engraved plate is produced on the bolting cloth, the lines and areas, which are engraved in the plate, are filled in, in the bolting cloth, by the paint and powder, and the raised features of the plate are left open. These open spaces are the features of the design to be produced in one color upon the fabric. The paint, and the powder taken up from the engraved lines and surfaces of the plate, fill the meshes of the bolting cloth, and are allowed to dry and harden, and then the surplus powder,

which may be adhering to the paint is rubbed off to obtain the smooth surface of the bolting cloth. This completes the making of the stencil. If a design is to be reproduced in several colors, each stencil, one for each part, or feature, or for each group of parts or features, to be reproduced in the same color, must, of course, be made and marked with a registering key, so that each may be laid upon the fabric in correct alinement with the others, so the color will be applied exactly in the, place, on which the part of the design is to be produced.

In reproducing the design or ornament upon the fabric, the colors are applied on the reverse side of the stencils and pressed through the open meshes of the bolting cloth by an implement made of wood, preferably bass wood, and having a beveled, straight working edge, longer than the width of the stencil. The bevels of the implement are preferably convex. This implement is used to press the paint through the open meshes of the stencil and to remove the surplus paint therefrom. The result of this work gives the surface, to which the paint is so applied, the appearance as if the paint had been applied by a brush. This is, to my understanding, due wholly to the stencil, which is thin and flexible, permitting its being applied closely to the fabric, on which the ornament is to be reproduced, and has all, even the finest details clearly defined thereon.

' I claim as my invention:

The process of producing a stencil for decorating fabrics, consisting of the following steps: (1) producing an engraving, in which the areas of the design, upon which the color'is to be applied, appear in relief, and the outlines and surfaces to which no color is to be applied are excavated; (2) filling the excavated ground and lines of the engraving with a mineral powder; (3) applying paint to a sheet of bolting cloth, stretched over a frame, and then laying it .upon the engraving, while the paint is yet fresh, and pressing it thereon; (4) raising the sheet of bolting cloth from the engraving and allowing the paint and the owder adhering thereto to dry; and (5) rub ing off the surplus powder, reducing the surface of the stencil to a uniform level, and rendering the same smooth; substantially as herein shown and described.

GERALD JACOBS.

Witnesses PAULA BATES, LOUISE KELLER. 

